Why do smallmouth attack lures far bigger than what they eat?

Because not every strike is a meal. Outside pure feeding, smallmouth run a territorial/agonistic circuit: a big intruding profile near a nest, a feeding station, or a holding rock gets driven off with a charge and a bite — the mouth is the only tool a fish has for eviction. This is most extreme in bed-guarding males but persists at lower intensity around prime structure all year, which is why an oversized swimbait or glide bait occasionally draws a violent response from a fish that "shouldn't" want it. Feeding logic sizes your bait to forage; territory logic occasionally rewards breaking that rule.

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